Vincent Vincent and the Villains were an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band. They were signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

History

Vincent Vincent grew up in

Hatch End Hatch End is an area of North West London, situated within the London Borough of Harrow. It is located north west of Charing Cross. Attractions Hatch End is home to Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres on the 404-seat Elliott Hall and ...

, an area in the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...

. He later moved to East London's Bethnal Green and after leaving Art College decided to start a band. In 2003 he formed Vincent Vincent and the Villains and released a limited edition single on Smoking Gun Records in 2004 called "On My Own".Clarke, Bett
Vincent Vincent and the Villains
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''. October 24, 2006 With the band gaining local notoriety they were then talent spotted by Young And Lost Club, who signed the Villains and put out their second release, "Blue Boy". As well as Neill Kidgell on bass and Alex Cox on drums, the band at this time had two frontmen (Vincent himself and Charlie Waller) Waller left shortly after in 2005, to pursue his ambitions with his childhood band,

The Rumble Strips The Rumble Strips are an English band from Tavistock, Devon. The 4-piece line-up of Charlie Waller, Henry Clark, Tom Gorbutt & Keith Lunnon was present from the first recordings until late 2006 when Sam Mansbridge joined to fill out the sound ...

. The final months for the original lineup of the Villains were described as "stifling, unpleasant and impossible" and inspired the song "Johnny Two Bands" which would be the band's first major release, taking the melody from a previous song "Making Raindrops". Vincent Vincent found a new bassist and guitarist in Will Church and Tom Bailey (who were friends from college, and with whom Vincent worked in the Ten Bells pub), and the third single - "I'm Alive" - was released on Young and Lost Club Records in April 2006. This secured a record deal with EMI, with "Johnny Two Bands" being chosen as the debut single. This was performed on Top of the Pops in October 2006. The band re-released "On My Own" the following year in October 2007. The next single "Pretty Girl" was released on 25 February 2008 on CD/7"/digital download. The album ''Gospel Bombs'' was released on 10 March 2008. A third single off the album was planned for May 2008, but due to ongoing problems at EMI Records these plans were shelved. After being dropped by EMI the band cancelled most of their summer dates, but appeared at Benicassim Festival 2008. They played their final gig together at 93 Feet East, London on 13 September 2008.

Members

*Vincent Vincent - Vocals & Guitar *Alex Cox - Drums *Tom Bailey - Lead guitar *Will Church - Bass The Villains evolved from

The Double Card Bastards ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, The collaboration included Vincent Vincent, Neill Kidgell, Charlie Waller and William Shannon (who made the instruments out of cardboard, string and a baked bean tin). Will Church worked with Vincent at this time in The Ten Bells pub in East London, which was frequented by Tom Bailey (who wrote songs in a band with Church), and when Charlie Waller and Neill Kidgell left, the two became Villains.

Releases

Albums

* ''Gospel Bombs'' (2008)

Singles

References

External links

MySpace page Villains on Top of the Pops video 'On My Own video'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent Vincent and the Villains Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 English rock music groups